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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Re: [Yasmin_discussions] Multisensory Perception

Canadian artist Catherine Richards worked with propioceptive disorders andillusions:

> It be timely to consider the little-known embedded bodily sense of> Proprioception where the briain maps the orientation and movement of our> body and limbs-especially in an age of mobile phones armed with compasses> and accelerometers-the case of Ian Waterman should give us all pause when> discussing multisensory perception:>> *Loss Of Proprioception- The Case of Ian Waterman *>>>>>> *At the tender age of only nineteen, Ian Waterman became sick with a viral> diarrhoea which slowly began to diminish his co-ordination. When he was> eventually taken into hospital, he was initially thought to be drunk; his> speech had become slurred and he could neither walk nor maintain an upright> position. Things, from then on, progressively became worse, culminating at> a> stage where he no longer had any control whatsoever over his own bodily> movements.The virus had cause him to lose all sense of touch and> proprioception from the neck down. He could initiate a movement but did not> have any control over it or where it happened. All of the large sensory> nerves and receptors had been destroyed and, as such, were no longer> sending> the relevant information to his brain to maintain and update his body> schema. This meant that he could be lying on the bed and yet not feel his> body at all, and if he did not look at them, he could not tell where his> arms or legs, or any other part of his body, were at any given time. *>> *Through constant concentration and visual input, Ian Waterman, slowly> learnt to move again. He was able to do so by planning, and concentrating> on, every movement his body had to make in order to produce the desired> action. However, in doing so, he found he could only do one thing at a> time.> It took so much concentration just to move one leg, that he could not move> his arm simultaneously, for then the concentration would have to shift to> his arm, and he would lose control of his leg. Moreover, if he was to,> shall> we say, hold an egg, he could not walk at the same time. His concentration> would have to shift to the act of walking and would, in turn, leave nothing> for the task of holding the egg. Without being able to concentrate on the> act of holding the egg, it would either be crushed or dropped.*>> *Ian Waterman never fully recovered but did learn to deal with his problems> in a rather incredible way. He can walk, drive, and maintain a normal job.> However, the above problems still stand and every action is the result of> unfaltering planning and concentration. Simple movements and sensations,> that we are normally unconscious of and that we all take for granted,> suddenly become very complex without proprioception as this case clearly> shows. *> <>> http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/philosophy/Personnel/susan/JadeBellamy/proprioception.html> >>>>> On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 4:43 PM, nina czegledy <czegledy@interlog.com>> wrote:>> > Dear Yasminers,> >> > It a great pleasure to introduce the Multisensory Perception> > discussion, its leaders Raewyn Turner and Richard Newcombe.> > and respondents Sergio Basbaum, Jenny Marketou, Hilda Kozari> > and Ian Ferguson> >> > I have initiated this theme due to my long time interest in> > spatial and multisensory perception. While I will remain in> > the background of this conversation, I post a few introductory> > lines based on my previous research on the subject.> >> > Sensory awareness presents a key factor in our existence and> > relates significantly to social and cultural developments of direct and> > instantaneous communication.> >> > In our visually and auditory privileged world we take it for granted that> > vision and sound provide the major source of sensory information.> > This belief is due to the generally accepted rule that our sensations> tend> > to be dominated by the perceptual tool that provides the most reliable> > facts> > in relation to our surroundings. Vision in this case is considered to> > provide> > the most detailed information about significant properties of objects in> > our> > environment. Auditory or olfactory spaces seem to have different> properties> > and while they belong to our most basic senses, are less considered in> > industrialized societies. Tactile space is viewed as "friendly" maybe> > because> > touching implies intimacy - a controversial notion in an age when direct> > contact> > is increasingly replaced by remote control devices. For the longest time> > our> > senses were considered entirely autonomous 'perceptual modules', each> > functioning independently. Recent studies have shown however, that our> > perceptual experiences are formed by manifold, complex interactions> between> > sensory modalities. Clinical tests indicate that the senses are not only> > fundamentally connected but also that our perception of visual, auditory> or> > tactile events can be altered dramatically by information from other> > senses.> >> > Invariably, the different zones of human existence include physical,> > psychological and spiritual spaces, whilst it remains to bee seen how> > this contributes to a fundamental shift in human perception, technologies> > have a significant impact on our spatial awareness in ways that artistic> > and> > creative practices are just beginning to tease out.> >> > The next post is from Raewyn Turner and Richard Newcombe.> > Looking forward with great expectations to contributions.> >> > nina czegledy> > _______________________________________________> > Yasmin_discussions mailing list> > Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr> > http://estia.media.uoa.gr/mailman/listinfo/yasmin_discussions> >> > Yasmin URL: http://www.media.uoa.gr/yasmin> >> > HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: click on the link to the list you wish to subscribe to.> > In the page that will appear ("info page"), enter e-mail address, name,> and> > password in the fields found further down the page.> >> > HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: on the info page, scroll all the way down and enter> > your e-mail address in the last field. Enter password if asked. Click on> the> > unsubscribe button on the page that will appear ("options page").> >> > HOW TO ENABLE / DISABLE DIGEST MODE: in the options page, find the "Set> > Digest Mode" option and set it to either on or off.> >>>>> --> Martin Rieser>> Professor of Digital Creativity> De Montfort University> IOCT/Art and Design> The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH> 44 +116 250 6146>>> http://www.ioct.dmu.ac.uk> http://www.mobileaudience.blogspot.com> http://www.martinrieser.com> _______________________________________________> Yasmin_discussions mailing list> Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr> http://estia.media.uoa.gr/mailman/listinfo/yasmin_discussions>> Yasmin URL: http://www.media.uoa.gr/yasmin>> HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: click on the link to the list you wish to subscribe to.> In the page that will appear ("info page"), enter e-mail address, name, and> password in the fields found further down the page.>> HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: on the info page, scroll all the way down and enter> your e-mail address in the last field. Enter password if asked. Click on the> unsubscribe button on the page that will appear ("options page").>> HOW TO ENABLE / DISABLE DIGEST MODE: in the options page, find the "Set> Digest Mode" option and set it to either on or off.>

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: click on the link to the list you wish to subscribe to. In the page that will appear ("info page"), enter e-mail address, name, and password in the fields found further down the page.

HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: on the info page, scroll all the way down and enter your e-mail address in the last field. Enter password if asked. Click on the unsubscribe button on the page that will appear ("options page").

HOW TO ENABLE / DISABLE DIGEST MODE: in the options page, find the "Set Digest Mode" option and set it to either on or off.